National Weather Service

The National Weather Service says a "multi-day catastrophic and potentially historic" storm is expected to impact multiple states. Thousands have lost power in Missouri and other states, and a person was killed Wednesday evening in the southeast part of the state.

National Weather Service offices across the country are suspending or reducing weather balloon flights due to low staffing. Meteorologists say the loss of data could lead to forecasting challenges and less accurate long-term outlooks.

Dry conditions and high winds have led to wildfires across Missouri. So far, there have been no reported injuries, but structures and vehicles have burned.

Nearly 2,500 jobs are being eliminated at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the federal agency responsible for collecting weather data used by meteorologists. That could spell danger for millions of people who rely on accurate forecasts.

For the hundreds of meteorology students at the University of Missouri, working for the National Weather Service was the dream until federal job cuts hit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Plus: Firings at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have impacted research facilities across the Midwest.

Hundreds of employees were fired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration last week. The mood was grim the next morning in an atmospheric science class at the University of Missouri.

Parts of the Kansas City region are under an Extreme Cold Warning until Thursday afternoon, with wind chills as low as 30 below. But the forecast for next week is significantly brighter.

Starting Monday night, a new blast of winter weather will see up to 10 inches of snow and wind chills as low as negative-30. The storm will plunge Missouri and Kansas into the freezing cold through Friday.

Bundle up and prepare: People living "basically anywhere from the Rockies eastward" will see extremely cold temperatures over the next several days, a meteorologist says. That includes Kansas City, which is set to host a Chiefs playoffs game this weekend.

The Kansas City region is expected to get between 2-3 inches of snow Thursday night. And after the blizzard already cancelled classes for several days, Kansas City Public Schools already called a weather emergency day Friday, with no classes in person or online.

School districts have canceled class Monday, and city halls around the metro will be closed as snow continues to accumulate. The city's warming shelters are open, and RideKC buses are serving as warming spaces as well.

Fall is typically a drier time of the year for the Great Plains and Midwest. But drought is once again rearing its head in much of the region, and experts are not seeing relief anytime soon.